Amazon executive pays £100,000 for ‘fake Tom Petty’ to play his wedding

All ended well after real Tom Petty agreed to play the date in Seattle

An executive at Amazon was conned for over £100,000 after he booked a “fake” Tom Petty to perform at his wedding.

Brian Valentine wanted Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers to play at his wedding in July as a present to his wife-to-be, Amazon vice president Gianna Puerini, as the pair got engaged at one of the band’s concerts in Seattle in June 2010.

However, after paying a hefty $165,000 (£105,000) deposit to a now-defunct firm Lund Live, which claimed to book acts like Petty, Run-DMC and Ludacris. Valentine got in touch with Petty’s management company, only to find they had no knowledge of the transaction. Valentine alerted the FBI, who arrested the site’s owner Chad ‘Chris’ Lund for suspected fraud. He will appear in court today (August 6).

In spite of this, there was a still a happy ending, as Valentine was still able to book Petty And The Heartbreakers to play a full set at his wedding in Seattle through legitimate avenues.

Shortly before embarking on their world tour this year, the band were forced to offer a £48,000 reward for the safe return five guitars which were stolen from their Los Angeles rehearsal space. A security guard at Culver Studios where the band had been practising was arrested in connection with the crime.